If you’ve ever seen a lift boat in action, it may have looked like giant metal octopuses on the water. Lift boats are used to perform regular maintenance of gas and oil platforms by positioning themselves on each side of the platform (where there is no obstruction or pipeline) and then lowering their legs into the water.
What Are Lift Boats Used For?
A Lift boat is a type of vessel used for offshore work. It’s designed to carry personnel, goods, and equipment on rigs that are not equipped with cranes or other lifting devices.
A Lift boat is an offshore platform that can be deployed to provide support for oil rigs, drilling platforms, and other structures. The vessel has the ability to lift up in order to give heavy equipment access to hard-to-reach places without requiring a crane or rig. It’s also equipped with hydraulic jacks that allow it to move vertically unlike any typical ship on the water. This makes it ideal when working in shallow waters where there are no docking facilities available.
How does a lift boat work?
A lift boat is a vessel that’s used to raise and lower its legs in order to access less accessible areas. It does this by dropping 3 legs down into the sea bed, which keeps it steady while crews work on those vessels offshore.
The vessel has a range of different functions from helping with the construction and repair of oil rigs, transporting workers and equipment to the oil rig, and carrying out sea bed mapping.
What causes lift boat capsize?
A commercial lift boat is designed to be light and stable on the surface of the water, but it can become a different story when it gets lifted up during bad weather. This makes it extra dangerous for the crew working on board as they can be thrown around and injured.
Lift boats are designed to lower their legs onto the seafloor for stability. However, in bad weather and high winds, a crew member may need to operate the lift boat carefully to ensure that it is steady and not about to “capsize”.
How deep can a lift boat go?
Lift boats come in all shapes and sizes, but most of them have what is called an “over-the-side” design which means they must work within certain water depth limitations. Lift boats typically operate at depths up to 367 feet or 112 meters, depending on their configuration.
The hull dimensions vary from 60m x 54m x 6m to 75m x 62m x 7 m, and there is usually room for cargo such as equipment or supplies.
Conclusion
A lift boat is a self-propelled, self-elevating vessel with a large open deck area. They’re typically used for offshore mineral exploration and production or offshore construction activities.